Clasp.



I. W. LITCHFIELD.

CLASP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2,190?.

1., 1 68,521. Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

fiirzesses: [rzzuezzian- J m a) Q. 8. WWW, #0 W, YM

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

ISAAC W. LI'ICl-IFIELD, OF BOQTON, MASSACHUfiE'lTS,

ASSIGNGR' OF CINE-HALF TO HARRY H. DE LGSS, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONZTECTICUT.

CLASP.

Application filed August 2, 1907.

To all whom {2? m (13 concern:

Be it known that 1, Isaac W Lrrcnrrem, a citizen of the United States. residing at Boston in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clasps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to a fastening device of the clasp or buckle type adapted for various uses and especially suitable for use as a clasp for hose supporters or other forms of garment supporters.

The object of the invention is to provide a clasp or buckle which may be readily and conveniently engaged with the hose or other articles, and which will securely hold the material with which it is engaged without danger of slipping or injuring the material under strain.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clasp which will lie flat against the body or limb of the wearer, and which is of such construction that the clamping devices may be conveniently and quickly engaged with or disengaged from the material.

A clasp or buckle made in accordance with the various features of the invention comprises a body member, a clamping member pivoted thereon and provided with a material-engaging hook portion, and a co operating clamping member also carried by the body member. In embodying the invention in a clasp for hose supporters the hook member is preferably provided with a flat base portion so arranged with relation to the hook portion that the hookmay be swung about its pivot by engaging the base portion of the hook member with the limb of the wearer. l/Vith this construction the user is enabled to conveniently manipulate the clasp with one handin securing the clasp to the stocking or in disengaging it therefrom.

The construction embodying the invention readily lends itself to manufacture from wire and may be conveniently made from such material. In forming the clasp or buckle whether from wire or other material, the clamping member which coiiperates with the pivoted hook member is preferably formed from a separate piece at Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. is, rare. Seria1N0.386,728.

tached to the body member, although this is not essential. In any case it is preferred to so connect the clamping member with the body member that the clamping member may be moved toward and from the body member in order that the material may be more conveniently introduced between the hook member and the cooperating clamping member. This movable feature is not essential to the broader features of the invention but may be embodied in the clasp with advantage especially when the clasp is to be used for securing a hose to a hose supporter. It is also preferred to so connect the clamping member with the body member that it tends to spring away from the body member, since when so connected the clamping effect between this clamping member and the hook member is increased and the convenience with which the clasp may be manipulated is also increased.

The various features of the invention will be understood from an inspection of the drawings and the following detailed de scription of the construction of clasp shown therein.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clasp formed from wire and especially designed and adapted for use in connection with hose supporters; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the clasp showing it engaged with the stocking; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the clasp, the stocking being shown in section; and Fig. at is a side elevation showing the parts in open position and out of engagement.

As shown in the drawings the body member of the clasp comprises a rectangular frame consisting of the side members 1 and and the rear and front end bars 3 and d. This frame is conveniently formed by bending a wire into the desired shape, the ends of the wire being retained in a cylindrical sleeve 2.

One of the material-engaging or clamping members of the clasp is pivoted upon the end bar t of the body member, and is provided with a hook portion 5. This member is also conveniently formed from apiece of wire bent into proper shape. As shown the wire is bent to form the hook portion 5 and to form a flat base portion having side members 6 and an end bar 7. The side members are coiled at 8 to form the bearings which surround the end bar 4 of the body member and are also bent outward at 9 to form stops which engage the under sides of the side members 1 and limit the pivotal movement of the hook member. The coils 8 are preferably so formed that they bear against the side members 1 and are oppositely inclined so that when the hook member is swung about the bar 4 the coils act as cams tending to force the side member 6 laterally inward toward each other, and the side members laterally outward. away from eachother. The spring action of the members 6 or 1 or both, therefore, cooperates with the cam surfaces of the coils 8 to retain the hook member in position with the stops 9 against the members 1 and to automatically return the hook member to this position after it has been swung about the bar 4 in applying the clasp to the material to be held. The hook is so arranged that its open side or mouth faces outward or toward the pivotal axis of the hook, and in the closed position, away from the pivot of the other material engaging member.

The material-engaging member which cooperates with the pivoted hook member in gripping or clamping the material is also pivoted upon the body member of the clasp, and is provided with a bar 10 about whicl the material is folded by the hook member. The material engaging member is pivoted at the rear of the hook, 2'. 6.. at that side of the hook away from which the mouth faces in the closed position. This material-engaging member is also conveniently form-ed from a piece of wire bent into the desired shape. As shown, the wire is bent to form a-loop or eye having the cross bar 10 at its lower end, the ends of the wire-being coiled together at 11 and-being extended laterally from the upperend of the coil. Theouter ends of the wires extending from the coil 11 pass through coils 12 formed in the side members 1 of the body of the clasp, and are bent upward to engage the outer sides of the coils. The laterally extending ends of the wire from which the bar member is formed thus form pivots for the bar member and the. pivots are held within the bearing coils 12 by the upwardly bent ends 13 of the pivot wires. The coils 12 are so formed that when-the bar member is swung toward the body member to bring it into position to be engaged by the hook member, the ends 13 of the pivot wires force the side members 1 of the body member inward. The spring of the side members 1 therefore tends to retain the bar, member in normal position away from the body member, and to return the bar member to this position when the bar 10 is disengaged from the hook 5. The strap or tape 14: forming a part of a hose supporter or other device may be secured to the upper bar 8 of the body member, or may be otherwise secured to the clasp. It is preferred, however, in casethe tape 14 is of elastic material, to thread the tape between the bar 3 and a cross bar 15, and to secure the end of the tape to the end of the bar 7 ofthe hook member in the manner shown in the drawings. With the tape thus secured, the part of the tape between the upper end of the body member and the cross bar 7 acts as an elastic retaining device for maintaining the hook member and body member in normal relation as indicated in the full lines in Fig. 4 with the base portion of the hook member parallel with the body member. lVith this arrangement the tape also lies between the metal parts of the clasp and the person, and renders the clasp more agreeable to the touch.

In connecting the clasp with the edge of the stocking or other material the hook member is swung into the dotted line position indicated in Fig. a by pressing the bar 7 against the person of the wearer, for instance, and the material is introduced between the hook member and bar member. The bar. member is then swung down toward the body member of the clasp and then the hook member is swung into the position indicated in Fig. 3 carrying thematerial over the bar 10. When in this position the-base of the hook lies fiat against the leg of the wearer so that it tends to prevent movement of the hook member in a direction to disen' gage the hook from the bar. The under side of the hook member is so arranged that it acts asa cam to force the bar member tow rd the body member as the hook swings into normal position. The material is therefore firmly clamped between the hook memher and bar member, as indicated in Figs. 2

and 3, and the strain upon the material is so distributed that there is little or no danger of injuring the material. The barmemher is so arranged with relation to the pivot of the hook member that the bar lO-engages the hook member back of or at the rear of the bar 4; on which the hook member is pivoted, so that the tendency of the bar 10 to move upward will tend to swing the hook member about its pivot in a direction to maintain the engagement between the hook member and bar member. There is no danger, therefore, that the hook member and bar member will become disengaged from the material.

The gripping efiect of the clasp may be increased and the disengagement of the material from the clasp rendered impossible by providing the bar member 10 with a material deflecting finger, and this construction forms one of the features of the invention. downward at 16 to form a material deflecting finger. This finger may be arranged to pass either inside or outside of the bar 4., or

to press the material against this bar. It

As shown, the bar 10 is bent so that itpassesinside of the bar 4 as indicated. This finger as shownacts to bend the material downward over the bar so that any strain on the material will have a lifting effect on the bar 10', thus crowding the bar upward against the hook member 5 and increasing the clamping effect between the bar and hook. The linger, also acts to resist any tendency of the material to slip over the engaging surfaces, and more evenly distributes the strain upon the material.

The clasp may'be readily engaged with and disengaged from the stocking or other article to'be supported, and when in use lies flat against the limb of the wearer so that he experiences no discomfort from its pres ence. lhe gripping members may be of any suitable width, and may be of a width to distribute the strain upon the stocking, so that there is little if any danger of tearing or injuring it under the varying strains to which it is subjected.

While I have described the features of the invention as embodied in a clasp especially adapted for use in connection with hose supporters, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in clasps or buckles adapted for other uses, and that the specific construction and arrangement of the members of the clasp may be varied to best suit the use for which the clasp is intended.

Having described the nature and object of the invention, and specifically described one form of clasp in which it may be embodied, what I claim is 1. A fastener comprising a body, a hook pivoted to one end of the body and having its mouth facing outward, a loop movably connected to the other end of the body and arranged to lie within the mouth of the hook back of its pivot when the material is folded through the loop by the hook, whereby the loop will be locked against movement away from the body by engagement with the hook, substantially as described.

2. A fastener comprising a body, a material engaging hook member pivoted to the body and having its mouth facing outward, a cooperating member supported on the body on that side of the hook away from which the mouth faces for movement toward and away from the hook, a material engaging bar on the cooperating member located between the point of support of the cooperating member and the pivot of the hook whereby pressure of thecooperating member against the hook tends to swing the hook in a direction to maintain the engagement between the hook and bar, substantially as described.

3. A fastener comprising a body, a member pivoted to the body comprising a material engaging hook portion having its mouth facing outward and a base portion adapted to lie parallel to the body portion body member provided with a base portion and a material engaging hook the base portion adapted to lie parallel with the body portion when the hook is closed, a cooperating clamping member movably secured to the upper end of the body beyond the hook, a material engaging portion on the cooperating member arranged to lie within the hook when the baseportion of the pivoted member is parallel with the body member, substantially as described.

5. A, fastener comprising a body member,

a hook pivoted to the body, a cooperating loop mounted on the body to the rear of the mouth of the hook through which the material is folded by the hook arranged to engage the hook back of its pivot, and a material deflecting device on the loop, substantially as described.

6. A fastener comprising a body provided with a cross bar at one end, a member pivoted at this end of the body and provided with a hook the mouth of which faces the bar, a cooperating member pivoted on the body member to the rear of the mouth of the hook, and a bar 10 on the cooperating member arranged to be engaged by the hook back of the pivot of the hook, substantially as described.

7. A fastener comprising a body member provided with an end bar, a member pivoted to the end of the body provided with a hook the mouth of which faces the bar, a loop through which the material is folded by the hook pivoted to the body to the rear of the mouth of the hook and arranged to engage the hook back of its pivot, substantially as described.

8. A fastener comprising a body provided with a cross-bar at one end, a hook pivoted at this end of the body and having its mouth facing the bar, a cooperating member pivoted on the body to the rear of the mouth of the hook, a bar on the cooperating member arranged to engage the hook back of its pivot, and a finger on the bar cooperating with the cross-bar to form a fold in the material when the hook is engaged with the bar, substantially as described.

9. A fastener comprising a body member provided with side members and an end bar, a member provided with a hook portion and with side members pivoted on the bar and providedw with oppositely inclined cams engagingfthe side members of the body member and tending to spring the members latemlly, and a member mounted on the body member and provided with a bar for 00- operating with the hook in clamping the material, substantially as described.

10, A fastener comprising a body member, a hook member pivotally connected to one end of the body member, a member mounted upon the body member and provided with a. bar cooperating with the hook in clamping connection, substantially as described.

Intestimony whereof I aiiiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

I ISAAC W. LITCHFIELD. Witnesses:

IRAN L. FIsH, ANNIE G. RICHARDSON.

Copies of this patent may bejobtaine l for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. c.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,168,521, granted January 18,

1916, upon the application of Isaac W. Litchfield, of Boston, Massachusetts, for an improvement in Clasps, errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 94, strike out the Word and; page 3, line 103, claim 6, strike out the reference-numeral 10; and that the said Letters Patent should be read With these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 22d day of February, A. D., 1916.

[SEAL] R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 01. 24248. 

